August 5, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



169 



stations, office of public road inquii'ies, 

 library. 



AgTieultural experiment stations have 

 been established in each state of the union 

 under the Hatch Act of March 2, 1887. 

 Agriculture is also supported by the en- 

 dowment of agricultural colleges under 

 the Morrill Law of August 30, 1890, out of 

 funds arising from the sale of public lands. 

 A list of the agricultural colleges and ex- 

 periment stations, together with partic- 

 ulars as to courses of study, etc., is given 

 in a separate bulletin (No. 122) published 

 by the department. The organization of the 

 department in 1903-4, together with a brief 

 statement of the work of each division, is 

 to be found in a special circular (Division 

 of Publications Circular No. 1) . Full par- 

 ticulars as to the appropriations for the 

 current year are contained in the act (Pub- 

 lic No. 158). A year after its organization 

 its entire force consisted of 29 members, 

 mostly clerks. On July 1, 1902, the staff 

 numbered 3,789, of Avhom 1,209 were ex- 

 ecutive officers, clerks and messengers, 2,081 

 scientific investigators and 499 laborers.* 



The Agricultural Department in Wash- 

 ington is not merely an office— it is also 

 a busy hive of research. A large num- 

 ber of laboratories are attached to it, in 

 which investigations are being carried 

 on, bearing, in one way or another, on 

 problems in agriculture. Much research 

 work is also done in the state experi- 

 ment stations ; in the main, however, these 

 serve to bring under the notice of farmers 

 the importance of science to agriculture by 

 demonstrating the value of methods of 

 cultivation, manures, etc. There is no 

 question that the research work done under 

 the auspices of the agricultural department 



* Since this report was in type I have received 

 summary reports of work done in various bureaus 

 of the department : I owe them to the kindness of 

 their several chiefs. It is impossible now to 

 notice them in this report^ but I trust to be able 

 to deal with them specifically elsewhere. 



and in the experiment stations is of the 

 very greatest value, and is contributing 

 most materially to the development of agri- 

 cultural industry. To take only one illus- 

 tration, whereas, in 1884, the amount of 

 sugar made from sugar beet was only about 

 300 tons, the beet crop of the past year is 

 estimated to yield 400,000 tons ; the amount 

 of sugar made in the United States from 

 the sugar cane being only about 300,000 

 tons. This extraordinary increase, I be- 

 lieve, is due practically entirely to the in- 

 fluence exercised from Washington. A 

 map showing the regions in which the tem- 

 perature conditions were favorable to the 

 growth of the sugar beet was first prepared 

 by Dr. Wiley, the head of the bureau of 

 chemistry. Seed was then issued to farm- 

 ers in various districts, together with direc- 

 tions how it was to be dealt with, and the 

 produce was subsequently examined for 

 sugar ; in this way it was determined where 

 the beet could be grown successfvilly. The 

 advantages to be derived from the cultiva- 

 tion of the crop were also made clear to 

 the farmers. An industry of great im- 

 portance has in this way been gradually 

 brought into existence; at the same time, 

 farming practise has been vastly improved 

 and land has increased considerably in 

 value owing to its having received proper 

 treatment. 



The department is undoubtedly exercis- 

 ing an extraordinary influence on the edu- 

 cation of farmers by distributing literature 

 among them and by encouraging and help- 

 ing them in every possible way; indeed, it 

 is cei-tain that, by one means or another, 

 the American farmer is gradually being 

 led to see that science is indispensable to 

 agriculture. 



The work that is being carried on in New 

 York state under the direction of Professor 

 Bailey, the director of the College of Agri- 

 culture at Cornell University, Ithaca, may 

 be referred to in further illustration, as 



